Polyurethanes
Overview
Polyurethanes are a feature of everyday life. They’re present in our furniture, bedding, clothes, shoes, buildings, and cars. The journey from base chemicals such as propylene or benzene to end-use polyurethanes involves multiple steps and chemical products. Argus can help you to navigate this complex and volatile value chain and make better commercial decisions around sales, marketing, distribution and procurement.
Argus’ polyurethanes services give you in-depth global and regional pricing insight, including feedstock analysis, in single, concise and integrated reports. In addition to pricing, you get access to global industry news and analysis of key economic drivers on a weekly basis. We cover isocyanates, propylene oxide, propylene glycols and polyols.
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Latest polyurethanes news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global polyurethanes industry.
Dow to share European polyurethanes plan in April
Dow to share European polyurethanes plan in April
London, 13 March (Argus) — US chemicals firm Dow will provide some details about its plans for its European business next month, chief financial officer Jeff Tate said today. The company announced a strategic review of its European polyurethane assets in October, which is due to be completed by mid-2025. The firm will share some decisions in its first-quarter earnings call scheduled for 24 April and more decisions will be shared at the second-quarter earnings call in July, Tate said, promising "incremental updates". Dow's sales volumes in Europe are 20pc lower than pre-Covid, Tate said. But energy costs have risen. "We feel it's prudent to take action around our footprint in Europe. Because we don't see that recovering any time soon," Tate said. The focus will be on Dow's more commoditised products, "particularly those which are more energy intensive", Tate said. That means polyurethanes in particular, and also siloxanes, he said. Olefins and plastics and packaging are not directly under consideration, Tate said, aside from one-off decisions such as the idling of one of its three crackers at Terneuzen in the Netgerlands through delayed maintenance. Prolonged weak consumer demand, geopolitical uncertainty and its effect on energy costs, and a high level of regulation have all affected Europe's global competitiveness in the petrochemicals sector, Tate said. Dow's strategic review is part of a wider pattern in the European petrochemicals industry. LyondellBassell announced a similar review in May 2024 and although it has not yet formally announced any resulting decisions, unions last week agreed a plan for the closure of the Lyondell-operated Maasvlakte POSM unit by 1 October. By Laura Tovey-Fall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Unions agree on Maasvlakte POSM petchem unit closure
Unions agree on Maasvlakte POSM petchem unit closure
London, 6 March (Argus) — Dutch union FNV said today that it has reached agreement with global chemicals company LyondellBasell on a plan to close the firm's propylene oxide-styrene monomer (POSM) plant in Maasvlakte and cut workforce. Based on the agreement the plant would close by 1 October, FNV said. A vast majority of union members at LyondellBasell voted in favour of the proposed plan, FNV said. The vote closed on 5 March. Unions had been in negotiations with LyondellBassell which operates the plant, regarding a plan to reduce the plant's workforce. "The company and the trade unions have come to an agreement on severance pay," FNV said today, but did not comment on how many workers will be made redundant or retained at the site, which employs approximately 160 people. LyondellBasell declined to comment, only reiterating what it said in February about no definitive decision being made. German producer Covestro, which jointly owns the facility, also declined to comment further today. The Maasvlakte POSM facility has 315,000 t/yr of propylene oxide (PO) capacity and 640,000 t/yr of styrene monomer (SM) capacity, but it has been idled since December 2024. The plant has been intermittently idled several times in recent years, reflecting a structural surplus in Europe's PO and SM production capacity. By Laura Tovey-Fall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
PU industry grows by 4.2pc/yr in 2018-2023
PU industry grows by 4.2pc/yr in 2018-2023
London, 27 February (Argus) — Europe's polyurethane industry contributes €233bn/yr ($242bn) to the economy with compound annual growth of 4.2pc in 2018-23, according to a new study. Data released today by European isocyanate and polyols producer associations Isopa and Alipa aims to measure the economic value added by the polyurethane (PU) industry in the EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway and Turkey. But while the data shows overall economic growth, it does not fully reflect the effects of the economic crisis that has affected the chemicals industry since 2022-23, the associations said today. Within the headline figure of €233bn created value in 2023, 5.6pc was attributed to the chemical producers which make basic chemicals and additives for PU production. Producers of PU components accounted for another 21.9pc and final product manufacturers for 36.5pc. Those sectors together accounted for €149.2bn. The remaining 36pc of created value was attributed to sectors that work with PU products, such as the construction industry. The construction and comfort sectors showed particular growth across the period, but the automotive sector grew only modestly, while footwear was flat. Low growth rates in some sectors "reflect the economic difficulties the industry has faced in recent years," Isopa and Alipa said. Within Europe, Germany's PU industry-created value was greatest, at €51bn in 2023, followed by France at €28bn and Italy at €25.7bn. by Laura Tovey-Fall PU industry economic value added €bn Sector 2018 2023 5yr-CAGR Construction 51.4 67.6 5.6 Industrial goods 44.1 50.5 2.7 Automotive 31.4 34.6 2.0 Furniture and Bedding 26.1 33.2 4.9 Appliances 19.7 24.4 4.4 Footwear 5.7 5.7 0.0 Others 4.4 4.0 -1.9 Isopa, Alipa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US housing permits tepid in Jan, PU outlook unchanged
US housing permits tepid in Jan, PU outlook unchanged
Houston, 19 February (Argus) — Stagnation in new housing permits in January suggests restrained US housing construction in early 2025 as annual permit and start figures lag the prior year. Domestic polyurethane (PU) market expectations for 2025 did not improve in January, with participants planning for flat to modest increases in consumption for the year as a whole. The building blocks of polyurethanes, such as isocyanates like polymeric MDI (PMDI), go into insulation, roofing applications and carpet underlay. PMDI demand so far has been largely restocking activity rather than end-uses in construction, as expected in the first few months of the year. Most participants anticipate stronger demand in the second half of the year, an expectation which January's slow start to construction activity seems to support. February PMDI contract prices settled at 95-103¢/lb, a rollover from the previous month as supply and demand are stable, according to Argus . However, multiple price increase announcements have come out and as cost inputs continue to put pressure on the market many participants expect prices to rise in the coming months. Privately-owned housing permits were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.483mn units in January, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While January was up 0.1pc from December's rate, it was 1.7pc lower than the year prior and currently stands below the rates of each of the first three months of 2024. If January's lower annual comparison were to extend through the rest of the first quarter, it could set 2025's pace of new housing construction behind the prior year's through the early peak building season that lasts from the spring to early summer, as permits serve as a forward indicator for new housing starts. Single-family permits stood at 996,000 units in January, unchanged from December after the rate increased for three straight months. But while the recent uptrend in single-family permits presents a bright spot in the housing construction outlook, January's rate was still 3.4pc below the previous year. Housing starts in January were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.366mn units, 9.8pc below December and 0.7pc lower than January 2024. Single-family starts were at a rate of 993,000 units, 8.4pc below December and 1.8pc lower than the previous year. The stagnant month-to-month and lower annual comparisons for permits could extend declining housing starts in the months ahead. The latest builder sentiment survey for February enhanced the mixed forward view of construction activity brought by January's tepid permit rate. February's reading reversed the small uptick in sentiment registered in January, falling back five points to 42, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). February's result was the lowest level in five months and reflected builders' increasing anxiety about the construction market's outlook, especially with the Federal Reserve signaling it is reluctant to lower borrowing costs until inflation slows further. Any index reading below 50 denotes a weak market environment. NAHB Chairman Carl Harris said that builders were still hopeful that regulatory reform could spur development, but uncertainty over tariffs and high housing costs was resetting 2025 expectations in February. By Aaron May and Catherine Rabe Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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